Page 8 of The Threads Of Fate
Of course, there is no longer a bus driving to school, so I’ll have to just do it on foot. At this moment, I just feel like taking my loss and going back home, but my father has a day off, and I would rather be at school than over there right now, especially after what I just found out. I take a deep breath and start the walk.
I’m not even 10 minutes into my walk, and there's already some creep following me. I grab the can of pepper spray I always have hidden in my purse, because you never know when it might come in handy, and there's a side of me that also enjoys using it. Not in a ‘I’m just gonna mace everyone’ way, but more in a if you piss me off, ‘I’ll gladly burn your eyeballs off’ way.
TAPTAPTAP
The footsteps are getting closer, and I hold out the can, ready to use. I turn around to spray it into this fucker’s eyes, but the moment I see who’s behind me, I stop myself from pressing the button.
“I must say your violent tendencies are a big turn-on for me.” I snort at Corvin. What the hell is he even doing here? Shouldn’t he be at his school? I place the pepper spray back in my purse and cross my arms.
“I thought you were a stalking creep. You could’ve announced yourself earlier! I could’ve sprayed you!” I scold him. I might be unsure of my feelings towards him, but that doesn’t mean I want him to get hurt. There were definitely some feelings from our time together last night, but I have never felt like that towards anyone else in the past, not even for my own family,so what makes him so special?
“Aww, my love, your public display of affection gives my life so much more meaning,” he tells me with one hand placed over his heart. I can feel the corners of my mouth lifting up. It’s hard to stay mad when he starts to say stuff like this.
“Come on, let’s go, I can see something is wrong, and I know just the place to take you for when that happens,Vespera.”
I probably shouldn’t, but I walk with Corvin either way. I seem to actually enjoy his company. There’s this tingling feeling in my stomach, something along the lines of excitement – wherever he wants to take me to is probably not as bad as school. I hate school almost as much as home, and I know it’s my last year, but then I’ll be forced into a job I’ll probably hate until I drop dead instead of being able to do all the things I want to do once I finally get my freedom. And I know I probably shouldn’t skip and should get myself used to the impending doom coming my way, but I just don’t seem to care about school as much as I used to.
“So what’s going on,Vespera?”
Unsure of how to answer, I look down at my feet, dragging them over the ground. Would it be okay if I told him? Or would this make him not want me anymore? Before I can overthink, I tell him anyway. “Last night I found out my father raped a woman with his teammates back when they were in school, and my mom knew about it and only blamed the girl for it.” He opens his mouth in shock at what I just said. It’s quiet for a couple of seconds before he responds to me.
“I don’t like your dad. It doesn’t take a genius to know he was the one who gave you that bruise, and the way you looked when you saw him calling you. He doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you.” His fists are clenched, and he looks angry, but for once, the anger doesn’t feel directed at me.
“He should pay for that, but first I want to know if the woman is okay.” I look at him and stop walking for a second.
“What’s her name? Maybe I can look into her and let you know.” Grateful for his willingness to help me, I give him Savannah’s name. He grabs my hand and we walk for a momentin silence until a question pops up in my head and I turn my head back at him.
“Don’t you have school?” I ask him quietly, he seems my age, even though I’ve never seen him at school before.
“I dropped out last year. Why weren’t you at school?” I turn my head to him, but he’s too focused on where we are walking to notice it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sight more beautiful than him right now.
“I overslept,” I mumble at him. He laughs but doesn’t say anything to that.
After a couple of minutes, he stops and smiles.
“Ah, we're here,” he says without any additional info about where ‘here’ actually is. He gives my lips a quick peck, and he pulls me past a small fountain, towards a beautiful park. A loud banging noise makes me flinch, and he stiffens next to me immediately. I look around, trying to see what it was, relief floods me once I realise it’s just children playing around a bit further.
“What’s wrong?” In one flash, he’s before me with his hands holding my head within seconds. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast before.
“Nothing,” I lie to him. He frowns, he doesn’t seem to believe my lie fully, but also doesn’t push me on it, and let’s go.
“In time, you will learn to trust me, and once you do,” he shakes his head with a laughter that sounds angry and violent, “I cannot wait to hear the names of everyone that is going to die,” he states before holding my hand again and guiding me through the forest. I don’t answer him because, well, would he really mean that? I mean, beating someone up is one thing, but actual murder is another. I’m pretty much convinced he is just saying that to make me swoon for him and not because he would actually do something like that. Besides, if he were a killer, hewould be a very dumb one telling me, a stranger, what he’s capable of.
I look around me instead, feeling the wind on my skin and breathing in the smell of wood and grass. I laugh to myself, how ironic that someone who feels dead can enjoy life so much.
He takes me to a small bench between the willow trees and helps me sit down first before seating himself next to me. His arm is draped over my shoulder, and his leg is touching mine. Strangely, this small thing feels very intimate, and where his leg touches mine, I can feel my skin prickling from it.
“Why do you care so much?” It’s a question that has been on my mind for a while now. I never had anyone care before, and then suddenly this stranger shows up and forces himself into my life, acting like I matter. It feels like there’s more to Corvin’s attention and affection, or maybe I’m just so broken that all of this seems impossible to me.
“I hate that you feel like you need to ask that.” He moves his arm from my shoulder and places his hand against the back of my head instead, his finger sliding between my locks, slowly massaging my scalp. He looks into my eyes, making me feel like a deer caught in headlights. I don’t reply to him. I have never been able to tell anyone about the things that haunt me, and I want to say that the reason is that I don’t know how to say it, but that wouldn’t be true, not really. Because talking about it makes me feel weak and sad and uncomfortable, I don’t want people to know how vulnerable I really am. I want people to look at me and think that I don’t care, while I actually do care, a little too much, even. It’s a weakness I can’t afford to have, not in this world.
The way he looks at me tells me that he doesn’t just see me but understands how I feel. He moves a stray tear away with his thumb, and then he just pulls me closer to him. No extra words, no pushing me into saying anything. He just holds me close. Hisscent of cigarettes, mint, and wood invades my senses. I have never loved a smell more than I do now.
“I’m glad you came,” I quietly tell him while he keeps holding me close.
“Hmm, yeah? How so?” He moves his hand away from my hair and slides to my jaw, softly lifting my head.
“I don’t like going to school, but at least it’s better than being at home, I guess.” I don’t know why I decided to talk about it; maybe it’s this place or just the fact that he is making me feel so damn safe, something I’ve never felt before. He stays still, letting me continue at my own pace.
